Sometimes the games are not the competitive level you’d expect them to be given the quality of the players, who know each other’s tricks inside out. But interprovincial games appear to appeal to the family feud side of nature and for that they grow in dimension.
The last two Pro12 matches will settle where the teams finally place on the table with Friday’s trek to Belfast ranking as one of the toughest of the year. A needy home side and an Irish summer tour on the horizon stirs different impulses.
Dave Kearney has had a good season, his best so far with few predicting that he and Andrew Trimble would be central planks in Joe Schmidt's Six Nations success. Their meeting on Friday, if both are selected, will be primarily for the points but also the eye of Schmidt and a ticket to Argentina.
“You’d probably be lying if you said it wasn’t, but your first focus has to be to perform well for Leinster and get the win,” says Kearney. “Never mind trying to get into the Ireland set-up, there is competition there with Leinster.
“It does bring more of an edge to it, an interpro game. Playing against guys from your own country and who you play with does bring an international type intensity to it.
“Trimby (Andrew Trimble) has had a really good season. It has probably been one of his best and it’s the same across the back three with Tommy (Bowe) and (Jared) Payne they are very strong.
"The lads you are playing with for a couple months and then you end up playing against . . . it's a different relationship but it's a good opportunity for me to play against the best in the country."
Home semi-final
Leinster face Edinburgh at home in their final game and although they are certain of a place in the last four, they are not guaranteed a home semi-final. Their attitude is the earlier that's secured the better and for that reason Ulster can expect no small mercies. Kearney is of that mind too and will hope to shake off the team's European miss against Toulon and their Pro12 defeat to Ospreys and continue on his upwards arc.
“I’d say so,” he agrees of this season being his best. “It’s the most amount of opportunities I have had and the least amount of injuries and the most game time. I’ve been really happy with how I have performed this year but there is still room for improvement there and I’m trying to develop as a player week in week out.”
“We were pretty poor again against the Ospreys. We’ve done a lot of video work on both games and we had to be pretty harsh with ourselves. We all know we’ve a lot of improving to do. We didn’t play to our potential against Toulon and the scoreline reflected that. No doubt about it from watching that we realised how poor we were on the day.”
He took a week off and flew to Portugal and at the fag end of a season it was as important as hitting the gym. Kearney expects that a final surge with perhaps four more league matches and two Tests in South America, requires the body to be in harmony with the head.
“It’s always good to take a few days to yourself and take your mind off things,” he says. “At home, with the new stadium redevelopment, it’s going to be pretty heavy going, especially with an 18,00 crowd there.”
